m 


HOW 


AFFECTS  THE  INTERESTS 

OF  THE 

CITIZENS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED  BY  RINGWALT  & BROWN, 

34  SOUTH  THIRD  STREET. 

1861. 


HOW 


AFFECTS  THE  INTERESTS 


OF  THE 


CITIZENS  OF  PENNSYLVANIA. 

i 


V 0 . 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PRINTED  BY  RINGrWALT  & BROWN, 

34  SOUTH  THIRD  STREET. 


1861. 


f,  , , <u  29!  a '08  Comowc.  s-0 


A SKETCH  OF  IMPROVEMENTS  CONNECTING  THE 
EAST  AND  THE  WEST — ORIGIN  OF  THE  PENN- 
SYLVANIA RAILROAD. 

Previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  present  century,  the 
importance  of  connecting  the  valley  of  the  Ohio  river  and  the 
shores  of  the  North-western  lakes  with  the  Atlantic  seaboard, 
was  fully  appreciated  in  at  least  four  States  of  Uhe  Union,  viz  ; 
New  York,  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia.  General 
Washington  gave  as  one  reason  for  locating  the  Capital  of  the 
United  States  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  river,  the  opinion, 
that  at  no  distant  day,  that  stream  would  mark  the  great 
channel  of  communication  between  the  East  and  the  West ; 
and  as  far  hack  as  1791  a “ Society  for  promoting  the  improve- 
ment of  roads  and  inland  navigation,”  of  which  Robert  Morris 
was  President,  memorialized  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature  on 
the  importance  of  connecting  the  waters  of  the  Delaware  and 
the  Ohio.  From  time  to  time  explorations  of  rivers,  creeks, 
and  courses  were  made,  both  by  National  and  State  authority, 
all  having  in  view  the  single  idea  of  opening  the  ports  of  the 
Atlantic  to  the  trade  of  the  West.  The  pressing  necessity  for 
some  improvement  tending  to  this  result  can  readily  be  under- 
derstood,  when  it  is  known  that  the  only  outlet  for  the  produce 
of  western  Pennsylvania,  and  the  new  States  of  Ohio,  Illinois, 
Indiana,  and  Missouri,  was  by  way  of  the  Mississippi  and  its 
tributaries  to  New  Orleans,  a distance  of  more  than  two 
thousand  miles  of  difficult  river  navigation,  to  be  overcome 
without  the  important  modern  auxiliary  of  steam. 

New  York,  prompted  by  the  far-seeing  De  Witt  Clinton,  was 
the  first  to  take  decisive  steps  toward  the  accomplishment  of 
this  great  internal  improvement  scheme.  Immediately  after 
the  war  of  1812,  the  population  of  the  North-west  increased 

(3) 


4 


' , • j-lt„  and  some  means  of  communicating  witli  it 

with  great  rapidity, . york  wag  at  that  time 

became  an  imperative  necessity.  outstripped 

in  the  full  tide  of  her  commercial  to 

Philadelphia  her  rival,  an  «r  sessed  advantages 

maintain  their  supremacy.  That  SUtej^  ^ 
for  the  construction  of  can  h ( m Me  waters  0f  the 
communication  then  known,)  pn;0ved  bv  any  of  her 

East  to  those  of  the  West  that  ^ere  n t e^oyed  by  J 

competitors.  The  gigantic  barrier -oi ^th Maryland 
which  rose  like  an  ^ canal  was  to 

r t and  with  wealth  and 

"iulndance 

of  the  Erie  Canal  on  the  4th  day  of  July,  ^ JQrld 

later,  in  1827,  that  work-the  greatest  o yoA  was 

had  yet  seen— was  completed,  and  tne  ciry 

connected  by  water  with  Lake  Erie.  immense. 

The  advantages  derived  from  that  J~e  Increased,  and 
The  commerce  and  inland  trac  e o J mighty 

,K,  tall  in  tax  ^ “Iwta  "—.™.®  A 

empire  growing  up  es  people  of  Pennsylvania 

knowledge  of  these  facts  practical;  and 

to  cease  theorizing  and  o un  , 0f  julyj  1826— nine 

accordingly  we  find  that,  on  th  J J ^ coin- 

y.„,  Ita  „ t”  Let  Public  Im- 

OOBp,“l“?  .1“ iTn  «*“«  ««*»  !•*"•  ”d  "b“  Pe7 

a monopoly  of  the  wester  for  competition,  that  monopoly 

sylvania  opened  herimp  ^ ^ rival,  in  the  way  of  trade, 

was  estimated  to  D while  Pennsylvania 

■“J  “to  .tagleTta  If  Bulled  »d  Canal,  New 

the  Erie.  From  year  to  year  p West  and  attracting 

reducing  the  time  |k  tef  Pennsyl’vania  Improve- 

::“a ..  • —>  '*«■ 11  « -■ 


5 


complicate^,  and  consequently  was  worked  at  too  great  an 
expense,  ibis  the  intelligent  business  men  in  every  portion  of 
the  State  soon  discovered,  and  the  necessity  of  an  uninterrupted 
railroad,  leading  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburg,  through  the 
heart  of  the  Commonwealth,  was  considered  imperative.  On 
the  North,  two  lines  of  railroad  were  being  constructed,  and 
on  the  South,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  had  become  more  than 
mere  fancy.  The  condition  of  this  Commonwealth  was  at  that 
time  anything  but  enviable.  All  her  projected  and  completed 
improvements  had,  to  a certain  extent,  failed.  She  was 

burthened  with  a heavy  debt.  Her  credit  abroad  had  been 
destroyed;  and,  as  a writer  on  this  subject  remarked,  “the 
commercial  injury  thus  inflicted  upon  her  was  beyond  all  calcu- 
lation. Thirty  years  had  been  lost  in  the  race  for  the  Golden 
Fleece  of  the  West — lost  to  Pennsylvania  but  gained  to  New 
York,  making  the  commercial  progress  of  the  latter  the  most 
brilliant  in  the  world,  and  that  of  the  former  merely  an 
inglorious  struggle  to  keep  up  appearances.” 

It  was  in  the  midst  of  this  depression  that  a Convention  of 
those  favorable  to  the  construction  of  a railroad  through  the 
centre  of  Pennsylvania,  was  called.  That  Convention  assembled 
in  Harrisburg,  on  the  6th  of  March,  1838.  Delegates  were 
present  from  twenty-seven  counties  of  this  Commonwealth, 
including  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg.  Nearly  the  first  business 
trnsacted  was  the  adoption  of  the  following  resolution  : 

“ Resolved,  That  a committee  be  appointed  to  inquire  into  and 
report  in  reference  to  the  expediency  of  an  immediate  survey 
of  a continuous  line  of  railroad,  by  the  most  practicable  route, 
between  the  cities  of  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg.” 

On  the  second  day  of  the  session  of  the  Convention,  a me- 
morial was  adopted,  addressed  to  the  Pennsylvania  Legislature, 
which  concluded  as  follows : 

“ In  asking  the  attention  of  the  Legislature  to  this  subject, 
(the  construction  of  the  proposed  road,)  your  memorialists  can 
not  refrain  from  dwelling,  with  pleasure,  on  the  prospect  of 
that  vast  and  thriving  population  which  is  destined  at  no  distant 
day  to  fill  the  fertile  regions  bordering  the  lakes  and  rivers  of 
the  West,  nor  from  remarking,  with  equal  pride  and  satisfaction, 


6 


*.  <•„, . *«•  rr!° If. ““ vZ- 

munity  already  establish  in  10S  t^e^r  produce,  and  a 

delphia  is  the  first  choice  as  a mar  P ;fes{ 

source  of  their  of  this 

to  the  citizens  of  other  Sta  es  memorialists 

tribute  to  the  integrity  o our  merchants,  y o ^ ^ 

feel  assured  that  their  fellow-citizens  Legislature,  an 

Union  will  find  in  the  wW  *• 

SS^rr^Lr  own  interests,  has  ever  distin - 
sylvania  Railroad.  T , passed,  hut  the  action 

the  law  incorporating  that  Comp  y . f suoh  an 

Of  a.  t.4 

improvement  to  the  a en  ^ ^ vort  was  commenced, 

prejudice,  were  placed  as  stum  ° ,s  of  the  gtate  that  the 

"li:  £ 

rata,  i»..  the  h««* 

civilization,  with  nmnterr  p dg  f a road 

of  the  tr.pi..^ho«ldU.^^»™  hm  ic0„m0„ 

in  which  every  citisen  o y ^ of  these  two  grelt 

interest  and  a common  pm  • ^ agricultural  and 

ehies,  it  ™ »a  Ud  auiiuate 

71“,:::“:  «-- - * -"■«  * 

life  manufacturing  enterprises  of  tail 

Th.  effects  produced  by  «.«c.»—  « orjgi. 

been  such  as  were  predicted  but  n P J has 

«»p*  »> 

been  imposed  upon  its  traue 


/ 


7 

energies,  injures  its  reputation,  and  operates  to  the  advantage 
of  its  rivals.  The  pledge  of  liberality  which  was  published  to 
our  sister  States  when  this  great  railroad  project  was  originated, 
has  been  forgotten ; and  instead  of  inviting  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  their  people,  we  have  labored  to  drive  them  away. 
It  is  time  that  we  should  calmly  and  earnestly  think  upon  these 
things.  It  is  time  for  us  to  ask  whether  the  course  we  are 
pursuing  in  taxing  the  business  and  trade  of  our  own  citizens, 
and  those  of  neighboring  States,  is  fair  and  honorable — is 
dictated  by  a wise  policy,  and  is  consistent  with  the  immutable 
laws  of  justice  and  equality.  Let  us  reason  together  on  these 
questions. 


THE  DESIGN  OF  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD 
— WHAT  IT  COST,  AND  WHO  CONSTRUCTED  IT. 

We  have  already  stated  that  the  design  of  the  Pennsylvania 
RaM  was  to  secure  to  the  State  that  liberal  proportion  o 

the  trade  of  the  West  to  which  she  was,  by  her 

. .i_  It  was  not  intended  to  rival  any 

hnproTCinent'owned  hy  the'  Commonwealth.  No  portion  of  the 
mL  Line  of  Public  Improvements  was  productive,  save  ? 
ihe  Columbia  Railroad,  and  to  this  the  Pennsylvania  w as  tribu- 
tary From  the  day  it  was  opened 

Hollidayshurg,  it  brought  an  increased  travel  to  thc  easte^ 
end  of  the  Main  Line  and  put  money  m its  purse, 
was  acknowledged  by  the  Canal  Commissioners  in  their  repoi 
1852  wherein  it  was  shown  that  almost  the  entire  mciease 

th.  S....,  ~ tke  OolmH*  “XLhe  »« 

in  his  message  to  the  Legislature  of  1858,  says  tn 
p„fii  TJ  Columbia  Railroad  lor  « 1»«  “ 

double  the  amount  of  the  net  revenue  from  all  the  othe 
branches  of  the  public  works.”  This  one  fact  shows  that  the 
rivalry  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  never  resulted  in  any 
injury  to  the  Commonwealth  by  decreasing  her  re™  from 
the  Main  Line.  On  the  contrary,  that  line  was  aot™^  * 
more  productive  hy  the  construction  of  the  load.  The  may 
which  had  destroyed  the  Main  Line  of  Pennsylvania  Impiove- 
existed  »Lul.  of  this  SU.o.  I.  ™ *. 

(8) 


9 


New  York  and  Maryland,  which  States  had  constructed  avenues 
of  trade  around  Pennsylvania,  more  expeditious  and  economical 
than  any  within  her  borders. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  constructed  for  the  purpose 
of  bringing  hack  to  our  limits  a trade  that  had  been  drawn 
away  from  us  by  enterprising  rivals — for  the  purpose  of  regaining 
a treasure  which  had  been  lost  by  had  management  on  our  own 
part.  From  the  day  that  the  engineers  went  upon  the  line, 
the  work  steadily  progressed  until  it  was  completed.  The 
honor  of  Pennsylvania  was  at  stake,  and  nobly  was  it  upheld 
in  the  construction  of  this  great  work. 

It  is  well  to  glance  here  at  the  opposition  which  this  road  met 
with  from  the  citizens  of  rival  States.  In  New  York  reports 
were  industriously  circulated  that  the  Alleghenies  could  not  he 
crossed  without  the  use  of  inclined  planes,  and,  as  these  were 
considered  dangerous,  the  road  could  never  become  popular  and 
he  made  to  pay.  The  grades,  it  was  declared,  were  too  heavy 
to  permit  of  a remunerative  freight  business  ; and  a thousand 
other  “weak  inventions  of  the  enemy ’’were  spread  to  the 
winds.  Baltimore  was  more  merciful,  but  she  sneered  at  us ; 
and  the  New  England  States  swelled  the  chorus  of  detraction. 
Still  the  work  progressed.  When  money  was  needed,  it  was 
always  forthcoming  ; and  it  is  a subject  for  just  congratulation 
that  most  of  it  came  from  the  pockets  of  our  own  people.  At 
length  the  line  was  completed,  and  our  self-styled  metropolitan 
rival  discovered  that  she  had  a real  competitor  for  the  trade  of 
the  West.  She  prepared  herself  for  the  contest  by  repealing 
the  tax  on  tonnage  which  had  been  imposed  on  the  roads  run- 
ning in  competion  with  her  State  Canals.  On  the  10th  of  July, 
1851,  just  at  the  time  when  our  road  was  going  into  operation, 
her  Legislature  passed  a law  which  provides  that  “ it  shall  not 
be  necessary  for  any  railroad  company  in  this  State,  (New 
York,)  to  pay  any  sums  of  money  into  the  treasury  of  this 
State  on  account  of  the  transportation  of  property  on  any 
railroad  on  and  after  the  first  day  of  December,  1851.”  We 
had  joined  in  the  race  of  competition,  hut  our  rival  still  pre- 
served the  advantage. 


10 


The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  has  now  it | successful 
operation  360  miles  of  road,  which  cost  the  sum  of  $30,000,000. 
This  sum  may  be  divided  as  follows  : 


Individual  subscriptions, 
Philadelphia  subscription,  - 
Allegheny  county  subscription, 
Purchase  of  Main  Line  from  State, 
Bonds, 

Total, 


$7,300,000 

6,000,000 

1,000,000 

7,600,000 

9,200,000 

$30,000,000 


Add  cost’ of  Harrisburg  and  Lancaster 

Road,  forming  part  of  the  line,  - $l,8b-,4o 


Total  cost  of  road, 


$31,882,450 


Of  the  individual  subscriptions,  amounting  to  $7,300,000, 
nearly  all  are  held  in  Pennsylvania,  and  are  divided  among  a 
very  large  number  of  citizens  representing  all  classes  of  society. 

It  will  thus  be  seen,  that  of  the  thirty  millions  of  dollars  directly 
invested  in  the  Pennsylvania  Central,  over  twenty  millions  are 
held  in  this  State— a much  larger  proportion  than  can  be  show  , 
it  is  believed,  by  any  other  railroad  of  the  same  magnitude  in 
the  United  States.  It  may,  therefore,  be  most  emphatica  y 

termed  a Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

It  Will  not  be  pretended  by  any  man  that  the  city  of  Phila 
delphia,  or  the  county  of  Allegheny,  embarked  in  this  enterprise 

higher  objects  in  view  than  the  mere  construction  of  admdend 
paying  improvement;  and  if  this  is  unquestionably  true  of 

them, ^ may  it  not  also  be  said  of  many  of  the  individual 

stockholders?  They  looked  upon  the  road  as  a necessity  a 
an  indispensable  requisite  for  our  future  prospent y _and  great- 
ness as  a Commonwealth.  In  the  language  of  the  Philadelphia 
Councils,  they  “advanced  their  money  to  make  the  improve- 
ment, mainly^for  the  important  benefits  they  expected  to  deme 
indirectly,  from  the  developed  resources,  the  augmented  tr  , 
and  the  stimulated  industry  of  the  State.  And  this  is  the 
object  they  still  eherish,  and  for  which  they  are  Mans  to 
have  the  duty  taken  off  the  tonnage  of  a road,  which  is  the 


11 


chief  means  by  which  we  can  reasonably  hope  to  withstand  a 
fierce  competition  with  rival  communities  for  the  carrying  trade 
between  the  Atlantic  cities  and  the  West.”  These  facts  are 
worthy  of  serious  consideration.  To  relieve  the  Pennsylvania 
Central  from  this  onerous  burthen  will  prove  beneficial  to  our  own 
citizens,  who  will  thus  be  enabled  to  extend  the  field  of  their 
industry  and  enterprise  by  being  brought  in  closer  contact  with 
the  people  of  sister  States. 


WHAT  THE  PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD  HAS  A - 
READY  DONE  POR  THE  STATE,  AND  WHAT  IT 
CAN  DO  HEREAFTER,  IF  LEFT  UNTRAMMELED. 

business  centre.  Hie  Main  uiw  0f  through 

accomplish  these  desired  results.  For  P P , . 

ri  z“r»4  *«  *•  >»•>■»«  »• ,h-  c-"“- 
x" — , » :fz  - s 

-i-  - 

(12) 


13 


facts,  we  submit  the  census  of  the  counties  on  the  line  of  the 
road  for  the  years  1850  and  1860 : 


COUNTIES. 

POPULATION, 

1850. 

POPULATION, 

1860. 

INCREASE. 

RATE 
PER  CT. 

Dauphin,  - - 

85,754 

48,640 

12,886 

36 

Perry,  - - 

20,088 

22,940 

2,852 

14 

Juniata,  - - - 

18,029 

16,300 

3,271 

25 

Mifflin,  - - - 

14,980 

16,378 

1,398 

9 

Huntingdon,  - 

24,786 

26,167 

1,381 

5 

Diair,  - 

21,777 

27,785 

6,008 

27 

Cambria,  - - 

17,773 

29,313 

11,540 

66 

Indiana,  - * 

27,170 

33,869 

6,699 

24 

Westmoreland, 

51,726 

54,020 

2,294 

4 

Allegheny,  - - 

138,290 

180,074 

41,784 

30 

365,373 

455,486 

90,113 

25  Ar 

Add  the  Counties  on  Harrisburg  and  Lancaster  and  Colum- 
bia Railroads,  both  of  which  are  now  under  the  management  of 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  : 


COUNTIES. 

POPULATION, 

1850. 

POPULATION, 

1860. 

INCREASE. 

RATE 
PER  CT. 

Lancaster,  - - 

98,944 

116,621 

17,677 

17 

Chester,  - - 

66,438 

74,749 

8,311 

12 

Philadelphia,  - 

408,144 

568,304 

160,160 

40 

573,526 

759,674 

186,148 

33  Av. 

Here  we  have  a total  population,  residing  on  the  direct  line 
of  the  Pennsylvania  Road,  of  one  million  two  hundred  and  fif- 
teen thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty  souls,  (1,215,160,) 
almost  one-half  of  the  total  population  of  the  State.  And 
these  counties  and  cities  have,  during  the  past  ten  years, 
shown  a per  centage  of  increase  greater  than  that  of  any  other 
tier  of  counties  in  the  State,  excepting  only  those  in  which 
great  mineral  developments  or  other  extraordinary  discoveries, 
have  been  made. 


u 


We  might  refer  here  to  the  towns  and  villages  eieete 
through  the  instrumentality  of  this  great  improvement.  We 
might  point  to  the  capital  of  the  State,  and  show  the  vast  in- 
crease of  business  and  population  brought  there  by  the  libei  - 
ity  and  enterprise  of  this  Company.  We  might  cite  the  eases  of 
Bridgeport,  Altoona,  Cresson,  Johnstown,  and  manj ’°^ex ‘ 2°“* ’ 
where  this  Railroad  Company  has  not  only  invested  hundred^  of 
thousands  of  dollars  in  improvements  calculated  to.develoP 
the  resources  of  the  Commonwealth,  but  has  induced  individual 
‘vtL..  «.  invest  millions  »«.-  W.  h«= 

dwell  upon  these  themes.  As  Daniel  Webster  «a  d of  M“Sa 

chusetts : “ There  they  are  ! they  speak  for  themselves  . The 
return  of  the  tax  assessor  has  made  them  known  to  the  common 
™ry  of  the  people,  and  the  traveller  through  Pennsylvania 
—be  he  prince  or  peasant-looks  upon  the  teeming  evl  en??. 

of  our  energy  and  enterprise,  spread  along  the  lme  o 
great  Railroad,  with  feelings  of  admiration,  not  unmingled  wi  h 

^Lettrigain  resort  to  those  stubborn  arguments,  figureMo 
show  what  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  has  done  01  ^ 

by  increasing  the  trade  brought  through  its  centre  from 
West  to  find  an  outlet  at  Philadelphia.  We  take  the  value 
tonnage  moved  on  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  for  the  “loW1“S 
years,  as  it  appears  in  a pamphlet  published  in  1859  by  the 
Philadelphia  “Corn  Exchange  Association: 


1853, 

1854, 

1855, 
1851, 
1857, 


$4,617,784 

7,551,334 

12,413,554 

14,845,245 

16,379,650 


The  years  that  have  elapsed  since  the  publication  of  this 
table  show  a still  greater  increase  of  the  value  of  trade  than  is 
otltb”  i.  W.k.»  no.  ‘I- 

quire  into  all  the  advantages  derived  by  our  P00P  e f'0"  ^ 
!reat  trade.  We  leave  it  to  the  intelligent  reader  to  deduce 
from  these  facts  the  natural  results— results  that  have  a e 
to  the  activity  of  our  manufactories;  have  increased  our  com- 


15 


merce ; have  rendered  agriculture  more  profitable  by  creating  a 
certain  demand  for  all  the  produce  of  the  soil ; and  have,  in  a 
most  remarkable  degree,  enhanced  the  value  of  our  mineral 
lands  by  causing  their  rich  treasures  to  be  developed. 

In  regard  to  the  impetus  given  to  the  mineral  resources  of 
the  Commonwealth  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  we  quote 
some  extracts  from  reports  made  by  officers  of  that  Company. 
On  the  15th  of  January,  1852,  Mr.  Herman  Haupt  submitted  a 
report  to  the  President  and  Directors  of  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road Company,  “ exhibiting  the  injury  that  must  result  to  the 
trade  of  the  State  by  a continuance  of  the  Tonnage  Tax.”  In 
that  document  he  shows,  “from  the  Canal  Commissioners’  re- 
port of  the  preceding  year,  that  the  amount  of  coal  shipped  at 
Hollidaysburg — representing  the  produce  of  the  Allegheny 
mines — was  only  about  50,000  tons.”  This  was  at  a time  when 
the  State  imposed  a tax  upon  all  coal  carried  over  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Road  of  three  mills  per  ton  per  mile.  Under  the  opera- 
tion of  that  law,  the  coal  trade,  was  almost  prohibited  over  the 
railroad,  and,  as  a natural  consequence,  it  languished  in  a most 
profitless  condition.  But  on  the  Tth  of  May,  1855,  the  Tonnage 
Tax  on  coal  and  lumber  was  repealed,  and  what  was  the  conse- 
quence? In  the  tenth  annual  report  of  the  Directors  of  the 
Company,  dated  January  31,  185T,  we  find  the  following  lan- 
guage: 

“ Since  the  repeal  of  the  Tonnage  duty  on  coal,  the  transpor- 
tation of  the  bituminous  variety,  which  abounds  along  the  line 
of  our  road,  has  become  an  important  branch  of  the  Company’s 
business.  In  consequence  of  the  distance  of  the  mines  from  the 
seaboard,  the  charges  of  freight  must  necessarily  be  light,  to 
permit  its  introduction  to  market  in  competition  with  that 
brought  from  the  mines  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  from  whence 
most  of  this  description  of  coal,  consumed  in  Philadelphia,  has 
heretofore  been  obtained.  The  rate  charged  for  its  transporta- 
tion is  deemed  profitable  only  in  connection  with  other  business, 
and  with  a view  of  keeping  the  rolling  stock  of  the  Company 
fully  employed  during  that  portion  of  the  year  when  there  is  a 
scarcity  of  freight  of  other  descriptions.  After  the  superior 
quality  of  the  coal  of  the  region  traversed  by  our  road  shall 


16 


have  been  fully  established,  it  is  believed  it  will  command  a 
price  in  tbe  market  sucb  as  to  afford  more  remunerative 

°f  “sti  to  follow  this  subject  further,  and  see  tbe  beneficial 
effect  tbe  repeal  of  tbe  Tonnage  Tax  on  coal 
important  branch  of  Pennsylvania  industry.  Pio  P 

of  the  Central  Railroad  Company  we  learn  that  the  shipments 

of  coal  over  their  road  during  the  year 


1856,  was 

1857,  “ 

1858,  “ 

1859,  “ 


- 100,844  tons. 

- 258,013  “ 

- 340,538  “ 

- 421,625  “ 


Here  we  have  unmistakable  evidence  that  this  road  has 
actually  built  up  a coal  trade > °f  ““^^““ind^t  this 

r . - »,»»» 

of  .1.  .u*  ft.  «.t.  h» 

.1  a. s:*  ”7, 

hut  recently  required  to the  State  of 

out  through  the  great  Mississippi  v^ley  from  th 


17 


score  of  sovereign  States— each  a mighty  empire  within  itself- 
are  tributary  to  it,  as  the  main  artery  through  which  must  ulti- 
mately flow  (if  a liberal  and  just  policy  is  exercised  by  Penn- 
sylvania) a great  portion  of  the  commodities  bought  and  sold 
for  the  use  of  their  people.  We  do  not  intend  to  follow  these 
connecting  roads  in  their  wanderings  through  the  cities  and 
towns  of  the  Great  West.  We  are  writing  as  a Pennsylvanian 
to  citizens  of  Pennsylvania,  and  it  is  to  State  pride,  State  in- 
terest, and  State  honor,  that  we  appeal. 

The  bill  prepared  for  the  commutation  of  the  Tonnage  Tax 
provides  that  the  rates  for  transportation  shall  be  reduced  for 
all  local  shippers  equivalent  to  the  tax  now  chargeable  on  their 
trade,  and  that  a sum  equal  in  amount  to  the  tax  that  has  ac- 
crued since  the  1st  of  August,  185T,  shall  be  contributed  by 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  to  the  completion  of  the 
following  roads : 

1.  Pittsburg  and  Steubenville  Railroad. 

2.  Chartiers  Talley  Railroad. 

3.  Fayette  County  Railroad. 

4.  West  Pennsylvania  Railroad. 

5.  Ebensburg  and  Cresson  Railroad. 

6.  Tyrone  and  Clearfield  Railroad. 

7.  Tyrone  and  Lock  Haven  Railroad. 

8.  Hopewell  and  Bedford  Railroad. 

9.  Penn’s  Valley  Railroad. 

10.  Chambersburg  and  Bedford  Railroad. 

These  ten  railroads  will  afford  direct  communication  be- 
tween the  counties  of  Washington,  Butler,  Lawrence,  Clear- 
field, Centre,  Bedford,  and  Fulton,  and  the  cities  of  Philadel- 
phia and  Pittsburg,  and  will  offer  increased  accommodations  to 
the  trade  and  business  of  Huntingdon,  Cambria,  Mifflin,  Frank- 
lin, Allegheny,  and  many  other  counties.  The  complete  de- 
velopment of  the  resources  of  these  localities,  many  of  which 
have  been  neglected  for  years  to  the  great  injury  of  their 
people,  is  a subject  of  the  greatest  importance,  and  should  be 

carefully  considered  by  the  Legislature.  The  extension  of  a 
B 


18 

•,  A tr.nm  Ohambersburg  to  Bedford,  will  place  the  bitumi- 
railroad  f Pennsylvania  in  direct  communication  with  a 

nous  coal  fields  ot  y requires  considerable 

market  now  enti rely  cut  off  “i™aXhich  must  steadi- 
quantities  of  that  vane  y besides,  afford  facilities  for 

!y  a^  ra^  ’^stly^lebrated  Bedford  Mineral  Springs,  which 

- K-ys -I 

continue  to  langu  s , artificial  advantages,  progress 

rs  sr  l::.i 

but  a few  J°^rS  b^ greatly'enhanced  in  value;  and,  reasoning 
kets,  would  soon  b g y fiye  g after  these  roads 

from  analogous  case  , talu0  of  taxable  property 

shall  he  complete  , ^ ^ int0  the  State  treasury  suf- 

'would  bring  an  am  amply  compensate  for 

ficient  to  satisfy  all  reasonable  men,  And  this 

the  repeal  of  an  cbeerfully,  because  it  would  represent 

trade. 


THE  GENERAL  POLICY  OP  TAXING  TRADE,  AND 
THE  PARTICULAR  INJUSTICE  OF  SUCH  IMPOSI- 
TIONS UPON  OUR  CITIZENS  WHO  USE  THE 
PENNSYLVANIA  RAILROAD,  CONSIDERED. 


All  writers  on  political  economy  agree,  that  the  imposition 
o governmental  burthens  of  any  kind  on  internal  trade  is  an 
objectionable  and  erroneous  policy.  The  progress  of  modern 
civilization  and  enlightenment  has  shown  itself  in  nothing  more 
than  in  removing  burthens  from  the  industry  and  ingenuity  of 

mankind.  In  the  dark  ages,  and  even  in  modern  times,  in 
countries  cursed  by  despotism,  what  were  called  “monopolies” 
were  sold,  giving  to  the  purchaser,  or  to  the  favorite  of  a tyrant 
he  exclusive  privilege  of  making  or  selling  a useful  and  neces- 
sary article.  But  those  restrictions  upon  free  industry  passed 
away  with  many  other  relics  of  barbarism,  and  it  will  not  be 
denied  that  the  world  was  the  better  for  their  extermination. 
Labor  was  first  enfranchised  in  the  free  cities  of  Europe,  which 
by  purchase  or  pertinacious  resistance,  wrung  from  tyrants  the 
right  to  toil,  and  to  enjoy  its  results.  Labor  brought  wealth- 
wealth  power;  and  power  the  greatest  scope  for  the  exercise  of 
the  natural  faculties  and  rights  of  man.  The  seed  planted  in 
weakness,  and  protected  amid  great  perils  by  untiring  vigilance 
and  energy  has  grown  into  a tree  that  covers  the  earth.  Its 
trurt  is  whatever  valuable  we  possess  in  wealth,  in  art,  in 
religious  and  political  freedom,  and  in  social  life.  It  has  been 
of  en  repeated  as  to  become  an  axiom,  that  power  is  “con- 
tinually passing  from  the  many  to  the  few;  ” and  it  was  only 

by  continued  vigilance  that  the  blessings  gained  by  the  indus- 
trious Lowlanders  were  saved  to  the  people  everywhere.  Rulers 

are  apt  to  «govern  to  much . and  ^ Jnot  w 

power  of  government  is  wielded  by  a despot  or  by  representa- 

(19) 


20 

the  to»g«  i.  .1~J»  » *»»  »'  *»  “'l  “,fc°ritJ  keing 

»f  rm*.  » ,.™lJ  * *T« 

j!  and  hence  the  imposition  of  restrictions  upon  local 
pUTiP-  Lod  of  taxing  the  results  of  that  trade— the  wealth  it 

U Wuceiis  not  a sound  principle  of  governmental 
might  produce  ell  ]mown  that  the  invention  of 

policy.  For  ^stance  it  s j revolutionised  the 

the  Cotton  Jenny  by  Sir A g , ^ ^ 

ZZZu  . o iL  Of  po.pl.  -1»  hod  tote.  b.«« 

plenty  anu  opu  fpniq  invention  was  an 

Uf»g » oi“<*  »f  ».i»8 

improvement— -a  grea^  ’ Was  erBeded,  and  the 

hTimpIod  f e.ttiolioo>  upon  <h>»  ■>«» J ^ tolvV tad ' “ 

:"s  ;-,d 

11  “r,”,ed  - 

manufacturing  that  cotton  into  clot“-  mot  restrictions. 

before  the  present  century,  of  J^P  distilleries 

markets  on  the  many  barrels  to  one, 

by  which  they  "Ir/et  for  the  one  as 

and  the  same  price  rnment  interfered  with  this  process, 

for  the  many.  T » continued  to  resist,  and  the 

and  the  people  rehelle  • Cases  of  this  kind 

“ restriction  upon  tiade  “embargo 

have  not  been  confined  to  our  own  State. 


21 


laws  ” of  the  general  government,  passed  at  the  commencement 
of  the  present  century,  were  resisted  in  New  England  until 
they  were  obliterated.  Similar  instances  have  occurred  in  all 
parts  of  the  country,  proving  clearly  that  the  principle  of 
taxing  processes— of  imposing  unfair  restrictions  upon  industry 
and  trade— has  never  received  the  approbation  of  the  free 
people  of  America,  when  the  nature  of  the  burthen  was  clearly 
comprehended. 

It  is  alleged  that  the  tax  on  tonnage  carried  over  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  was  imposed  for  two  purposes  : First,  to  protect 

the  State  Canals  and  Railroads  against  competition;  and  Second, 
to  produce  revenue  for  the  liquidation  of  the  indebtedness  of  the 
Commonwealth.  The  first  of  these  purposes  has  ceased  to 
exist,  because  the  State  has  now  no  canals  or  railroads  to 
protect.  The  second  remains,  and  it  is  to  this  that  we  must 
devote  some  attention.  Let  us,  then,  consider  the  Tonnage  Tax 
as  a revenue  measure ; and  in  connection  with  this  considera- 
tion, glance  at  the  financial  condition  of  the  Commonwealth. 

The  imposition  of  a tax  upon  tonnage  tends  to  drive  away 
trade  from  any  line  of  transportation.  This  is  a self-evident, 
indisputable  fact.  No  law  can  be  passed  compelling  a shipper 
of  goods  to  select  a certain  channel  of  transportation.  If  two, 
four,  or  six  routes  of  trade  or  travel  are  open  by  which  he  can 
reach  a given  point,  he  will  take  just  which  one  he  pleases,  and 
the  Legislature  cannot  restrain  him  in  his  choice.  He  can 
carry  his  produce  to  market  in  an  ox-cart,  a Conestoga  wagon, 
a canal  boat,  or  a railroad  car,  just  as  suits  his  fancy  or  conve- 
nience. But  the  Legislature  can  offer  inducements  to  him  to 
choose  a certain  route,  or  it  can  impose  restrictions  which  will 
drive  him  from  it.  Suppose,  for  illustration,  one  million  tons 
of  freight  are  to  be  shipped  from  Chicago  to  the  cities  on  the 
Atlantic  seabord.  This  freight  can  reach  its  destination  by  the 
Canada  route,  the  Boston  route,  the  New  York  route,  or  the 
Pennsylvania  route.  Suppose  the  regular  railroad  charges 
between  Chicago  and  Boston,  New  York,  or  Philadelphia  to  be 
the  same,  the  chances  for  all  the  routes  leading  to  those  cities 
are  then  precisely  equal.  But  in  this  case  the  Legislature  of 
Pennsylvania  interposes,  and  says  to  the  Chicago  shipper,  “ If 


22 


you  bring  your  freight  through  our  State  you  must  pay  into 
the  treasury,  in  the  shape  of  a Tonnage  Tax,  one  do liar  per  ton 
for  every  ton  you  carry  between  Pittsburg  and  Philadelph  a, 
are  the  Chances  then  equal?  Assuredly  not.  A restriction 
has  been  imposed  which  must  drive  this  freight  to  another 
channel  of  trade.  As  an  inclination  of  one  inch  per  mi  e gnes 
a decided  impulse  to  the  flow  of  water,  so  a cent  per  ton  often 
decides  whether  freight  in  the  interior  of  Ohio,  or  Indiana  o 
Illinois,  shall  come  to  Philadelphia,  or  be  f'y  V 
Mississippi  to  New  Orleans,  or  find  an  outlet  at  New  lork, 
Boston,  or  Baltimore. 

But  the  taxing  of  processes  is  not  a politic  revenue  measure, 
because,  as  we  have  just  shown,  it  tends  to  keep  from  us  the 
products  of  distant  regions,  which,  if  brought  to  our  manufac- 
turers, would  produce  an  amount  of  wealth  incalculably  more 
beneficial  to  the  State  than  the  small  sum  derived  from  the 
original  restriction.  For  example:  Suppose  a tax  of  hve 

dollars  per  ton  to  be  placed  upon  a cargo  of  black  walnut 
coming  from  Indiana.  The  effect  of  such  a tax  would  be, 
either  to  prevent  its  exportation  altogether  or  to  send  it  to 
other  markets.  Once  brought  to  our  own,  it  is  no  unreasonable 
supposition  to  estimate  the  values  into . which  it ^ might  be  com 
verted  by  tbe  skillful  bands  of  our  artisans  at  §50,000.  A tax 

of  one  per  cent,  on  this  sum,  and  which  would  be  easily  and 
cheerfully  paid,  would  yield  ?500-a  sum  greater,  perhaps 
than  the  first  cost  of  the  raw  material.  By  an  unwise  mode  o 
taxation  we  banish  from  us  the  very  means  of  creating  values,  and 
of  giving  employment  to  our  workmen  and  to  our  commerce.  By 
taxing  results  alone,  we  not  only  gain  our  object— a revenue 
but  we  attract  instead  of  repel  the  products  which  form  the 
basis  of  our  commerce  and  manufactures,  and  consequent  y 
wealth,  and  which  supply  the  greater  portion  of  the  food  we 

'"we  admit  that,  as  a general  rule,  “ comparisons  are 
odious,”  and  that  they  are  particularly  so  when  instituted  to 
show  the  relative  progress  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  yet 
we  cannot  avoid  calling  attention  to  a few  facts  bearmg  upo 
this  part  of  our  argument.  Hon.  Charles  Gibbons,  in  a speech 


23 


before  the  Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  of  the  Pennsylvania 
Legislature,  gave  some  interesting  statistics  showing  the  pro- 
gress of  the  towns  and  cities  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
Speaking  of  the  opening  of  the  Erie  Canal,  in  1825,  he  says : 
“ There  was  not  then  a town  of  importance,  in  that  State, 
west  of  Albany ; and  Albany,  chartered  in  1682,  and  in  direct 
communication  with  the  city  of  New  York  by  means  of  a navi- 
gable river,  had  grown  so  slowly  that  in  1820,  at  the  ripe  age 
of  one  hundred  and  thirty  years,  it  contained  but  12,600 
inhabitants.  The  population  of  Buffalo,  which  was  originally 
laid  out  by  the  Holland  Company,  in  1801,  was  2,500.  Within 
five  years  after  the  opening  of  the  canal,  the  population  of 
Albany  was  doubled,  that  of  Buffalo  trebled,  and  Utica  and 
Bochester  became  cities,  each  containing  9,000  inhabitants. 
The  New  York  Central  Railroad,  afterwards  constructed,  and 
following  the  line  of  the  canal,  added  its  influence  in  the 
development  of  the  country  which  it  spans,  and  now  Albany 
with  a population  estimated  at  TO, 000,  Utica  at  28,000,  Auburn 
at  15,000,  Syracuse  at  35,000,  Bochester  at  50,000,  Lockport 
at  20,000,  and  Buffalo  at  80,000,  besides  a number  of  towns 
and  villages,  rising  from  the  path  of  those  improvements,  attest 
the  wisdom  of  a Clinton,  and  pay  tribute  to  the  State  of  New 
York.  The  city  of  Troy,  only  six  miles  distant  from  Albany, 
contained  in  1820  about  5,000  inhabitants.  The  Erie  and 
Champlain  Canal,  and  the  railroads  that  connect  her  with  the 
North  and  the  West,  have  since  become  the  sources  of  a pros- 
perity now  shared  by  her  population  of  near  50,000  souls.” 

The  control  of  the  trade  of  the  Great  West  was  the  stimulant 
on  which  those  inland  towns  and  cities  grew  so  great.  The 
wealth  of  that  teeming  region,  watered  by  the  tributaries  of  the 
Mississippi  and  washed  by  the  great  Lakes,  sought  an  outlet 
at  New  York,  and  on  its  way  passed  at  their  doors  and  paid 
tribute.  Will  any  one  pretend  that  New  York,  as  a State, 
would  have  been  benefited  more  by  taxing  this  great  trade  than 
she  has  been  by  permitting  it  to  pass  free,  and  build  up  towns 
and  cities  by  the  score  on  its  channel  ? Has  not  a greater 
revenue  been  derived  from  the  permanent  wealth  thus  created 
than  could  have  been  gained  by  a tax  imposed  upon  all  the 


24 

tonnage  which  rolled  through  from  Lake  Erie  to  Long  Island  ; 
Look,  now,  at  our  own  State,  and  see  the  advantages  it 
possesses,  hut  which  have  slumbered,  like  Rip  Van  Winkle, 
while  progress  was  all  around  it.  What  natural  favors  are 
enjoyed  by  Troy,  Syracuse,  Utica,  Auburn,  and  Portland,  that 
Harrisburg,  Lewistown,  Johnstown  and  Huntingdon  do  not 
possess?  Our  mineral  wealth  is  greater  than  that  of  New 
York;  our  soil  is  as  rich;  our  climate  more  genial.  Why 
should  not  we,  then,  have  a chain  of  cities,  rich,  S*eat>  Ill0':' 

perous_connecting  Philadelphia  and  Pittsburg?  Why  should 
not  Pennsylvania  be  the  manufacturing  centre  for  the  Rortti- 
West,  and  its  commercial  mart  as  well?  Let  ns  pro  t y t e 
example  presented  in  New  York;  and,  in  the  true  spirit  of 
liberal  and  generous  enterprise,  enter  the  lists  for  the  great 

■prizes  of  wealth  and  power.  . •, 

Pennsylvania  has,  for  years,  been  clamorous  in  her  deman  s 
for  a protective  tariff.  Her  statesmen  have  made  eloquent 
appeals  on  the  floors  of  Congress  for  legislation  that  would 
enable  her  mineral  wealth  to  be  thoroughly  developed  and 
protect  those  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  iron  and  the 
mining  of  coal  from  ruinous  foreign  competition,  bhe  has 
pointed  to  her  many  silent  forges  and  deserted  furnaces— to 
the  sad  record  of  bankruptcies  and  failures  presented  by  those 
who  have  engaged  in  the  iron  and  coal  business-and  has 
begged  of  her  sister  States  for  relief  and  encouragement.  O 
late,  a deaf  ear  has  been  turned  to  her  appeals;  and  those  who 
have  sneered  at  her  most,  and  have  shown  the  least  disposition 
to  extend  to  her  aid  and  comfort,  were  the  States  of  New  lork 
and  those  comprising  the  great  North-West  TheJ  hav®  not 
been  blind  to  the  contracted  policy  which  burthened  then  trade 
as  it  passed  though  our  limits.  The  fact  that  we  taxed  their 
products  when  seeking  a market  on  our  own  soil,  has  not  been 
unknown  to  them ; and  more  than  once  have  our  appeals  been 
answered  by  a reference  to  our  own  want  of  liberality  and 
justice.  We  have  now  millions  of  dollars,  invested  in  non 
manufacturies,  which  is  not  as  productive  as  capital  m this  new 
country  ought  to  be.  The  largest  establishments  of  this  kind  on 
the  American  continent  are  within  our  borders,  and  year  after 


25 


year  our  people  are  humiliated  and  distressed  by  seeing  them 
abandoned  and  idle — the  fires  dead ; the  machinery  still ; the 
honest  laborers,  dependent  upon  them,  out  of  employment  and 
suffering  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  Much  of  this  is  justly  to 
be  attributed  to  the  selfishness  of  portions  of  the  Confederacy, 
which,  haying  no  interest  in  protective  revenue  laws,  deny  them 
• to  those  whose  very  life  depends  upon  the  fostering  care  of 

government.  But  the  policy  of  our  own  laws  hangs  over  many 
of  those  iron  manufactories  as  a depressing  cloud.  Thousands 
v of  tons  of  iron,  manufactured  in  the  interior  of  Pennsylvania, 

are  shipped  annually  to  Pittsburg,  and  other  points  in  the  West, 
to  be  sold  or  worked  up  into  articles  of  trade  and  domestic  use. 
Every  ton  of  this  iron  is  taxed , by  our  own  Legislature , for 
passing  over  our  own  soil.  The  manufacturer  in  Berks, 
Lebanon,  Dauphin,  Perry,  Pluntingdon,  Blair,  Cambria,  West- 
moreland,  and  other  counties,  who  ships  his  iron  by  railroad  to 
the  West,  is  compelled  to  pay  three  mills  per  ton  per  mile  into 
the  State  Treasury  for  the  privilege  of  doing  so.  Every  ton  of 
railroad  iron  made  at  the  great  Cambria  Works— works  that 
are  an  honor  to  our  State — is  compelled  to  pay  a tax  before  it 
can  reach  its  destination  in  Western  States.  Can  we  ask  for 
protection  from  the  General  Government  when  we  thus  prey 
upon  ourselves  ? It  is  time  that  those  of  our  citizens  interested 
in  the  iron  trade  of  Pennsylvania — -and  who  among  them  all  is 
not  ? — -should  seriously  demand  a more  liberal  policy  from  their 
own  local  government. 

We  come  now  to  the  consideration  of  the  second  proposition 
presented  at  the  commencement  of  this  division  of  our  subject, 
viz:  The  particular  injustice  of  taxing  the  tonnage  of  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad.  And  here  let  us  briefly  revert  to  the 
origin  of  this  tax,  that  our  position  now  may  be  clearly  ascer- 
tained. At  the  time  the  Company  was  incorporated  for  the 
purpose  of  constructing  a railroad  from  Harrisburg  to  Pitts- 
burg, the  State  owned  and  operated  the  canals  and  railroads 
connecting  those  two  points.  The  construction  of  a railroad 
parallel  with  this  line  of  improvements,  it  was  contended  would 
destroy  their  value — -they  produced  no  profits  to  be  destroyed. 
To  make  amends  for  this,  a tax  was  imposed  upon  all  tonnage 


26 


carried  by  the  railroad.  Under  this  restriction  the  road  was 
built.  It  was  not  then  argued  that  the  Tonnage  Tax  was  intended 
as  a revenue  measure:  it  was  imposed  merely  to  protect  the 
State  Canals  and  the  Portage  Railroad,  in  which  improvements 
the  Commonwealth  had  invested  many  millions  of  dollars.  But 
whatever  argument  might  have  been  used  in  favor  of  this  tax 
while  the  State  owned  and  operated  the  Main  Line,  certainly 
ceased  when  that  line  was  sold. 

The  reasoning  then,  if  sound  before,  had,  logically,  a re- 
verse application.  If  the  object  of  the  tax  on  the  railroad  was 
to  protect  the  canals,  when  the  canals  no  longer  needed  protec- 
tion, the  tax  should  cease,  because  the  reason  for  its  imposition 
had  ceased.  Especially  is  this  view  sound  in  this  case,  inas- 
much as  the  Railroad  Company  having  purchased  the  canals, 
they  could  not  need  protection  against  themselves,  and  the 
canals  and  railroads,  having  now  a common  owner,  a tax  on 
one  was  a tax  on  both,  and  thus,  what  was  pretended  to  have 
been  originally  imposed  as  a virtual  premium  to  the  canal,  be- 
came ultimately  an  actual  burthen  on  it,  or  rather  on  all  citi- 
zens using  it. 

The  Legislature  which  directed  the  sale  of  the  Main  Line 
of  the  public  works,  recognized  this  view  by  providing,  that  if 
the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company  became  the  purchasers, 
they  should,  under  certain  contingencies,  be  forever  discharged 
and  freed  from  the  Tonnage  Tax  and  all  other  taxes,  with  cer- 
tain specified  exceptions.  The  Supreme  Court  held  that  this 
was  too  broad,  inasmuch  as  it  amounted  to  alienation  of  State 
sovereignty,  and  was  to  a certain  extent  void  as  a contract  to 
bind  future  Legislatures.  But  the  legislative  declaration  of 
public  policy,  and  of  what  justice  to  the  Company  demanded, 
was  complete,  and  thus  the  Company  purchased  the  canals  and 
connecting  Railroads.  An  implied  moral  obligation  therefore 
rests  on  the  Legislature  to  carry  out,  to  the  extent  of  their 
power,  the  intentions  of  their  predecessors  of  1857 , by  repeal- 
ing this  Tonnage  Tax,  unless  in  doing  so  they  would  clearly  vio- 
late their  duty  to  their  constituents. 

There  can  be  no  argument  used  in  favor  of  the  continuation 
of  this  tax,  in  view  of  the  facts  above  set  forth,  except  that  it  is 


27 


a revenue  measure  necessary  for  the  credit  of  the  Common-* 
wealth.  In  reference  to  this,  facts  and  figures  can  be  produced 
sufficient  to  satisfy  any  unprejudiced  mind.  The  last  report  of 
the  Board  of  Revenue  Commissioners  of  Pennsylvania,  made  to 
(Governor  Packer  on  the  2d  of  March,  1860,  states  that  (( from 
the  evidence  before  the  Board,  it  would  appear  that  the  aver- 
age valuation  of  the  assessors  of  the  several  Counties  of  the 
State  is  from  fifty  to  sixty  cents  on  the  dollar— probably  less.” 
Under  the  action  of  the  present  Board,  the  whole  amount 
of  real  and  personal  estate  made  taxable  for  State  purposes,  is 
$569,049,995  00.  It  will  be  readily  conceded,  that  the  real 
estate  of  Pennsylvania  for  exceeds,  in  value,  that  of  Ohio,  and 
both  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  Pennsylvania  falls  $72,- 
868,156  00  short  of  the  assessed  value  of  the  land  only  of  Ohio. 

(e  the  State  of  New  York,  also,  under  a different  mode  of 
assessment,  the  real  and  personal  property  of  the  State  is 
valued  for  the  last  year,  at  a fraction  over  fourteen  hundred 
millions  of  dollars.  Their  system  of  assessments  is  far  prefer- 
able to  our  own,  so  far  as  reaching  the  cash  value  of  property, 
but  this  may  not  be  so  desirable  as  uniformity  in  value.” 

Here  we  have  unmistakable  evidence,  from  the  highest 
authority,  that  the  valuation  of  taxable  property  for  State  pur- 
poses, is  not  over  one-half  of  its  real  value,  and  that,  in  com- 
parison with  neighboring  States,  it  is  extremely  low.  Yet  we 
find  that  even  on  such  a valuation  the  rate  of  taxation  could  be 
reduced,  three  years  ago,  half  a mill,  and  the  Revenue  Board 
recommending  a further  reduction  of  half  a mill,  making  the 
rate  of  taxation  for  State  purposes  two  mills  on  a dollar  at  an 
assessment  of  one-half  the  value  of  property,  or  one  mill  on  the 
dollar  at  cash  value ! Surely  the  financial  condition  of  the 
Commonwealth  is  not  desperate  when  this  rate  of  taxation  is  all 
that  is  required. 

But  this  report  furnishes  other  facts  and  arguments  bearing 
upon  our  subject.  We  quote  : 

66  revenue  arising  from  the  adjusted  valuation  established 
by  this  Board,  of  the  property  subject  to  two  and  a half  mills, 
at  two  mills  on  the  dollar,  will  amount  to  the  sum  of  $1,127,- 
155  59.  To  this  add  the  sum  available  from  the  one  and  two 


28 


per  cent,  classes,  and  tbc  tax  on  watches,  and  it  amounts  to 
$1,197,661  56. 

“We  recommend  to  the  Legislature  the  reduction  of  a half 
mill  on  the  property  subject  to  the  two  and  a half  mill  tax. 
This  item  is  chiefly  made  up  of  land.  During  the  last  fiscal 
year  the  sum  of  $849,289  60  was  appropriated  by  the  Commis- 
sioners of  the  Sinking  Fund  to  the  cancellation  of  the  debt  of 
the  State;  nearly  a million  of  dollars.  Under  the  present  ad- 
justed valuation  by  this  Board,  the  sum  arising  therefrom,  to- 
gether with  the  other  sources  of  revenue,  will  pay  the  interest 
on  the  State  debt,  the  expenses  of  government,  and  leave  avail- 
able to  the  Commissioners  of  the  Sinking  Fund,  applicable  to 
payment  of  State  debt,  a half  million  of  dollars  annually.  Is 
not  this  sum  sufficient  for  us  to  pay  annually  on  our  debt,  con- 
sidering that  the  present  generation  has  had  a more  grievous 
burthen  to  sustain,  in  the  way  of  taxation,  than  any  preceding 
one,  or  any  that  will  in  all  probability  follow  it  ? The  Consti- 
tution has  put  a limit  to  the  increase  of  the  State  debt.  It 
cannot  be  enlarged  except  under  extraordinary  circumstances. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  they  may  not  arise.  If  they  do,  let  the 
day  and  the  time  provide  for  the  emergency. 

“If  the  Commonwealth  can  he  relieved  of  her  indebtedness, 
at  the  rate  of  a half  million  of  dollars  annually,  it  is  making 
all  the  progress  which  should  he  required.  It  would  he  wise  to 
pay  at  once  if  we  had  the  means.  But  this  cannot  he  done 
without  absolute  oppression  to  the  people.  At  the  reduction  of 
a half  million  a year,  we  will  have  done  our  part.  Let  us  have 
partial  rest,  at  least.  Let  our  children  cancel  a part  of  the 
mortgage,  for  though  their  inheritance  will  come  to  them  en- 
cumbered, there  will  be  no  danger  of  foreclosure ; with  half  the 
industry  and  perseverance  of  their  fathers,  they  can  meet  the 
remaining  instalments. 

“There  is  another  view  in  which  this  subject  is  to  be  consid- 
ered. An  overflowing  treasury  is  a bad  thing.  It  were  far 
better  to  have  only  money  enough  to  meet  the  pressing  and 
urgent  demands  on  it,  than  to  have  one  cent  of  surplus.  So 
long  as  there  is  unappropriated  money  in  the  treasury,  there 
will  be  ways  and  means  devised  to  get  at  it.  This  is  the  inevi- 


29 


table  conclusion  of  each  day’s  experience ; sucb  has  been  the 
result  of  the  past,  and  such  will  mark  the  future.  Of  this  we 
speak  as  a principle ; we  design  no  reflection  upon  our  legisla- 
tive body;  it  is  the  farthest  from  our  thoughts.  But  States 
are  like  men ; if  the  money  is  not  in  the  pocket  it  cannot  be 
spent,  and  so  with  the  treasury  of  the  State.  It  cannot  be 
reached  if  not  there,  because  the  fundamental  law  of  the  State 
has  reared  a barrier  against  the  increase  of  the  public  debt.”* 
Surely  no  one  will  contend,  in  the  face  of  all  this  testimony, 
that  the  financial  condition  of  the  Commonwealth  requires  the 
imposition  of  a tax  on  all  tonnage  carried  over  the  Pennsylvania 
Bailroad.  If  it  is  not,  then,  a necessity,  it  must  be  imposed 
upon  principle,  and  where  is  the  justice  of  a principle  which 
taxes  one  line  of  railroad  exorbitantly  and  permits  all  others  to 

*Since  the  above  was  written,  the  last  annual  message  of  His  Excellency, 
Governor  Packer,  has  been  sent  to  the  Legislature,  and  it  is  gratifying  to  find 
in  that  able  document,  confirmatory  evidence  of  the  prosperous  financial  con- 
dition of  the  Commonwealth.  His  Excellency  says,  “that  during  the  past 
three  years  the  State  has  not  only  met  all  her  ordinary  liabilities,  including 
the  expenses  of  government  and  the  interest  on  her  public  debt,  but  has  dimin- 
ished her  actual  indebtedness  the  sum  of  $2,286,882  15.”  He  also  shows  that 
there  was  an  available  balance  in  the  Treasury,  on  the  1st  day  of  December, 
1800,  of  $681,488  08.  His  Excellency  still  further  states:  “that  for  the  past 
three  years  the  tax  on  real  and  personal  estate  has  been  but  2$  mills  on  the 
dollar— that  for  the  past  two  years  and  six  months  the  State  has  received  no 
part  of  the  tax  on  tonnage  due  from  the  Pennsylvania  Rail  Road  Company — 
and  that  since  July,  1859,  the  interest  on  the  bonds  held  by  the  State  against 
the  Sunbury  and  Erie  Rail  Road  Company  has  remained  due  and  unpaid,”  and 
congratulates  the  Legislature  on  the  fact  that,  “without  the  aid  of  these  impor- 
tant sources  of  revenue,  so  great  a reduction  of  the  public  debt  has  been 
accomplished  in  comparatively  so  short  a period.”  These  statements  clearly 
show  that  there  is  no  necessity  for  continuing  this  burthen  upon  the  people 
who  use  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad.  If  the  State  can  reduce  her  debt,  as  the 
Governor  proves,  at  the  rate  of  over  $750,000  per  annum,  without  the  aid  of 
the  “extraordinary  revenue”  derived  from  a tax  on  the  business  of  a large 
portion  of  our  citizens;  with  a rate  of  taxation  on  real  and  personal  estate  of 
only  2 J mills  on  the  dollar,  on  a valuation  of  less  than  one-half  the  actual  value 
of  the  real  and  personal  estate  of  the  Commonwealth;  and  with  a source  of 
revenue  recommended  and  urged  upon  the  Legislature  by  himself  and  by  the 
Treasurer  of  the  State,  by  which  the  sum  of  $300,000  can  justly  and  fairly  be 
brought  into  the  Treasury  annually,  in  addition  to  that  now  received,  it  would 
certainly  be  the  part  of  justice  and  wisdom  to  relieve  those  oppressed  people 
from  their  burthens. 


30 

go  free  ? What  reason  can  be  assigned  for  imposing  this  tax 
upon  the  Pennsylvania  Central  that  will  not  apply  with  equal 
force  to  the  Reading  ? to  the  North  Pennsylvania  ? the  Alle- 
gheny Valley?  and  every  other  road  in  the  State?  If  rail- 
roads are  to  be  taxed  for  purposes  of  State  revenue,  in  the 
name  of  justice  and  honor,  tax  them  all  alike.  Let  not  one  or 
two  be  singled  out  to  bear  all  the  burthens  of  such  a policy. 

It  is  gravely  contended  by  some  who  oppose  the  repeal  of 
this  tax,  that  it  is  the  result  of  a contract  with  the  Common- 
wealth, and  that  no  matter  how  burthensome  it  may  be,  the 
railroad  must  submit  to  it,  because  it  accepted  the  charter  with 
this  provision  in  it.  An  argument  of  this  kind  is  hardly  worth 
consideration,  and  would  be  passed  by  in  silence  were  it  not 
seriously  urged  by  men  of  intelligence.  History  informs  us 
that  the  laws  of  the  Medes  and  Persians  were  irrepealable— 
that  once  enacted  they  remained  unchangeable,  no  matter  what 
evils  might  result  from  them.  These  opponents  of  the  repeal 
of  the  Tonnage  Tax  argue  upon  the  same  principle.  Notwith- 
standing the  reason  for  the  imposition  of  this  tax  has  passed 
away:  notwithstanding  the  financial  condition  of  the  Common- 
wealth is  such  as  to  admit  of  an  odious  restriction  upon  trade 
being  removed ; yet  these  gentlemen  contend  that  it  ought  to 
remain  forever.  Never,  since  our  government  existed,  has  a 
session  of  the  Legislature  passed  without  laws  being  enacted 
“for  the  relief”  of  something  or  somebody.  Have  these  laws 
all  been  wrong  in  principle,  because  they  almost  invariably  re- 
leased the  object  of  their  favor  from  some  agreement  with,  some 
responsibilty  towards,  the  Commonwealth? 

Pennsylvania  has  always  heretofore  pursued  a liberal  policy 
towards  public  improvements  of  all  kinds.  There  is  not  a nook 
or  corner  of  her  territory  in  which  she  has  not  spent  money  to 
construct  roads  or  canals,  build  bridges,  improve  water-courses, 
or  assist  in  some  improvement  intended  for  the  public  good. 
What  has  she  received  in  return  for  all  this  ? Where  is  the 
improvement  in  which  she  held  stock  that  has  paid  back  the 
amount  of  the  original  investment  ? Railroads  are  now  in  pro- 
fitable existence  in  which  she  once  held  stock  which  was  sold  at 
one  dollar  per  share,  when  the  par  value  was  fifty  dollars.  In 


31 


I 


the  last  annual  report  of  the  Auditor-General  we  find  a state- 
ment of  the  amount  of  stocks  held  by  the  Commonwealth  in 
sundry  incorporated  companies,  on  the  1st  of  December,  1859, 
which  shows  an  aggregate  of  $1,746,545  62.  Of  all  this  sum 
the  probabilities  are  that  she  will  never  realize  the  odd  thou- 
sands, perhaps  not  even  the  hundreds.  If  she  could  be  thus 
liberal  years  ago,  when  she  was  poor  and  needy,  can  she  not  be 
just  now? 

The  amount  of  revenue  derived  from  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road annually,  exclusive  of  the  Tonnage  Tax,  is  greater  than  the 
amount  paid  by  any  three  other  railroads  in  the  Commonwealth, 
while  the  capital  stock  of  that  Company  is  not  equal  to  the 
capital  stock  of  the  Reading  Railroad  Company.  We  annex  a 
statement  of  the  amount  of  tax  paid  to  the  State,  (exclusive  of 
the  tax  on  tonnage,)  by  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad  Company, 
during  the  past  four  years : 


1857,  - 

1858,  - 

1859,  - 

1860,  paid  and  estimated, 


- $74,857  82 

- 67,669  96 

- 75,674  99 

- 80,748  27 


Total,  - - - $298,951  04 


The  amount  of  Tonnage  Tax  paid  by  this  Company  up  to  the 
time  of  the  purchase  of  the  Main  Line  of  Canals  and  Railroads, 
was  $724,579  90.  These  figures  show  that  the  Commonwealth 
has  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  revenue  derived  from  this 
Company.  But  because  it  has  found  the  Pennsylvania  Rail- 
road thus  profitable  to  the  public  treasury,  shall  it  continue  to 
cry,  like  the  horse-leech’s  mother,  “Give?  give!”  and  never 
be  satisfied  ! Surely,  such  a policy  will  not  mark  the  golden 
days  of  prosperity  of  the  Old  Keystone  State. 


THE  RIVALRY  BETWEEN  EASTERN  CITIES  EOR 
THE  TRADE  OF  THE  WEST— THE  DUTY  OF 
PENNS  YLV  ANI  A— CON  CLU  SION. 

Independent  of  the  Canada  route,  which  has  been  constructed 
at  an  immense  outlay  of  capital,  and  which  taps  the  Lake 
trade  at  different  points,  there  are  three  great  competing 
routes  for  the  commerce  between  the  Atlantic  seaboard  and 
the  West,  viz  : The  New  York  Railroads  ; the  Baltimore  and 

Ohio  ; and  the  Pennsylvania.  These  lines  have  their  eastern 
termini  at  New  York,  Baltimore,  and  Philadelphia;  and  those 
cities  may,  therefore,  appropriately  be  considered  as  the  com- 
peting rivals  for  a trade  which  is  now  counted  by  hundreds  ot 

millions  annually.  _ 

Of  the  geographical  position  of  those  cities,  with  reference 

to  this  trade,  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak  at  length  here.  Every- 
man who  glances  at  a map  of  the  United  States  will  see,  that 
if  Philadelphia  is  not  a principal  outlet  for  the  products  of  the 
West  it  must  be  attributed  to  some  cause  aside,  from  her  loca- 
tion • and  if  he  turns  to  her  own  record,  he  will  observe  that 
her  course  has  been  shaped  so  as  to  encourage,  in  the  most 
liberal  manner,  this  great  trade.  That  city  has  aided  most  mu- 
nificently the  construction  of  various  railroads  calculated  to  de- 
velope  the  resources,  and  enhance  the  interests,  of  the  Common- 
wealth. In  the  language  of  Mr.  Gibbons,  when  addressing  the 
Committee  of  Ways  and  Means  of  the  Legislature,  “ she.  pays 
into  your  treasury  one-third  of  all  the  revenues  collected  m the 
State.  She  pledged  her  credit  to  the  extent  of  five  millions  ot 
dollars  to  aid  the  construction  of  the  Central  Railroad,  b le 
invested  one  million  four  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the  stock 
of  the  North  Pennsylvania,  seven  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
dollars  in  North  Western,  and  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  in 

(32) 


33 


the  Hempfield  Railroad  Companies.  [To  this  may  be  added  two 
millions  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars  subscribed  to  the 
Sunbury  and  Erie  Railroad.]  Her  citizens  have  sent  millions 
more  into  the  interior  to  be  employed  in  improvements  and  enter- 
prises of  various  kinds,  from  which  the  State  is  receiving  daily 
benefits  in  the  development  of  her  wealth.”  Her  commercial 

* apathy  must,  therefore,  to  some  extent,  at  least,  be  attributed 
to  the  illiberal  policy  pursued  by  the  State  Legislature.  While 
New  York  State  does  all  in  its  power  to  advance  the 

* commercial  greatness  of  the  city  of  New  York,  Pennsyl- 
vania has,  for  years,  dealt  with  Philadelphia,  and  the  com- 
mercial interests  of  the  Commonwealth,  as  though  they  deserved 
no  favor  or  protection.  The  tax  imposed  upon  the  trade  which 
she  now  has  with  the  West  is  conclusive  evidence  of  this.  It 
cramps  her  energies,  destroys  her  enterprise,  and  injures  her 
business  reputation. 

In  a former  part  of  this  argument,  we  quoted  from  a memo- 
rial of  the  City  Councils  of  Philadelphia,  to  show  that  the 
Pennsylvania  Railroad  was  not  constructed  as  a mere  dividend- 
paying speculation, — that  the  objects  of  those  who  aided  most 
liberally  in  originating  and  completing  it,  were  higher  and 
nobler  than  the  mere  realization  of  so  much  per  centum  upon 
the  capital  invested.  They  hoped  to  see  great  benefits  derived 
by  the  people  of  all  parts  of  the  State  from  this  improvement. 
They  desired  to  attract,  by  offering  inducements  for  it,  a liberal 
portion  of  a lucrative  trade  through  our  territory,  knowing  that 
such  a consummation  would  benefit  all  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity : the  merchant,  by  increasing  his  commerce  ; the  manufac- 
turer, by  creating  a demand  for  the  productions  of  his  skill ; 
the  farmer,  by  enhancing  the  value  of  his  land ; and  the 
laborer,  by  rendering  honest  toil  more  lucrative.  To  a certain 
extent  these  dreams  have  been  realized  : not  in  the  fullness  and 
completeness  that  should  have  crowned  them,  but  still  realized. 
In  olden  times,  tradition  tells  us,  it  was  customary  to  place  a 
bushel  of  corn  in  one  end  of  a sack,  with  rocks  in  the  other 
end  to  balance  it,  and  thus  compel  the  poor  pack-horse  to  bear 
a double  burthen  on  his  weary  way  to  the  mill.  Ingenuity  had 

not  then  discovered  that  the  bushel  of  corn  could  be  divided  so  as 
c 


34 


to  balance  itself.  The  law-makers  of  Pennsylvania  have  pursued 
a course  similar  to  this.  They  placed  an  unnecessary  burthen 
upon  a great  improvement,  and  have  hitherto  insisted  that  it 
should  be  borne.  They  did  not  perceive  that  this  burthen  in- 
creased the  price  of  every  barrel  of  flour— every  cargo  of  pork 

every  bushel  of  gram  brought  from  the  West  and  consumed 

by  the  people  of  the  East ; and  when  their  attention  was  called 
to  the  oppression,  they  answered,  as  the  Italian  peasant  an- 
swers when  asked  why  he  plows  his  land  with  the  bent  bough  of 
a tree,  “ Thus  our  fathers  did!” 

Our  people,  then,  who  reside  in  Philadelphia,  Pittsburg,  and 
other  portions  of  the  State,  have  not  only  the  great  object  they 
had  in  view  in  constructing  this  road  defeated,  to  a certain 
degree,  by  an  illiberal  State  policy,  but  they  find  that  this  same 
policy  increases  directly  the  price  of  every  article  they  pur- 
chase for  their  use  or  comfort.  They  are  compelled,  by  an 
onerous  system  of  taxation,  to  do  less  business  than  their  natu- 
ral advantages  entitle  them  to,  and  at  the  same  time  pay  higher 
rates  for  the  necessaries  of  life.  While  other  cities,  which  do 
no  more  for  the  States  in  which  they  are  placed  than  Philadel- 
phia does  for  Pennsylvania,  receive  encouragement  and  assist- 
ance from  the  rural  districts,  our  chief  metropolis  is  denied 
even  justice  ; and  in  return  for  her  liberality  in  developing  the 
resources  of  the  Commonwealth,  she  receives  oppression  and 
wrong. 

But  this  tax  upon  the  business  of  the  principal  railroad  in 
the  State,  lays  its  iron  hand  upon  citizens  who  live  outside  of 
Philadelphia.  Every  farmer,  merchant,  and  manufacturer  who 
transports  goods  a distance  of  twenty  miles  over  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad,  is  compelled  to  pay  this  tax;  and  thus  the 
profits  on  what  he  sells  are  diminished,  while  the  cost  of  what 
he  buys  is  increased.  The  Tonnage  Tax  is,  therefore,  a bui- 
then  upon  every  citizen  of  the  Commonwealth  who  does  business 
over  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  and  upon  our  citizens  alone. 
In  laying  this  tax,  the  law  declares  that  it  shall  be  upon  all  ton- 
nage, but  the  Company  cannot  assess  it  upon  freight  carried 
from  points  in  the  West,  where  the  transporter  has  the  choice  of 
• routes  for  reaching  the  Eastern  markets.  If  they  did  this, 


35 


business  would  be  driven  from  their  road,  and  would  necessarily 
seek  an  outlet  by  way  of  Baltimore  or  New  York.  To  secure 
a fair  share  of  the  trade  of  the  West,  the  Pennsylvania  Bail- 
road  must  carry  the  produce  of  the  West  at  as  low  rates  per 
mile  as  other  roads  will  carry  it ; and  how  can  this  be  done  if, 
in  addition  to  the  actual  cost  of  transportation,  a heavy  State 
tax  has  to  be  paid  upon  it?  At  first  glance,  the  additional 
imposition  placed  upon  the  local,  and  not  upon  the  through 
freight,  might  seem  unfair  .on  the  part  of  the  Company,  but  a 
little  consideration  will  convince  any  intelligent  man  that  no 
other  course  could  be  pursued  by  them.  They  must  either 
drive  all  through  trade  from  the  road  and  from  the  State,  or 
they  must  carry  it  as  low  as  it  can  be  transported  through  New 
York  or  Maryland.  The  oppression  which  our  citizens  using 
the  road  have  to  bear,  and  which  those  in  other  portions  of  the 
State  are  exempt  from,  is  not  therefore  inflicted  by  the  managers 
of  that  improvement,  but  by  the  law-making  power  of  the  State. 
If  the  State  will  remove  the  tax,  the  Company  will  at  once  reduce 
their  rates  of  transportation.  This  they  did  when  the  restric- 
tion was  removed  from  coal  and  lumber ; and  this  they  stand 
pledged  to  do  now  on  all  articles  transported  over  their  road 
subject  to  present  taxation. 

The  discriminations  against  our  own  citizens  which  we  have 
pointed  out,  and  which  a little  reflection  will  convince  any 
one  are  not  imaginary  creations  for  the  sake  of  argument, 
are  so  manifestly  unjust  as  to  excite  surprise  that  they  have 
been  so  long  quietly  submitted  to.  The  patience  with  which 
they  have  been  borne  can  only  be  accounted  for  by  the  pre- 
sumption that  their  burthens  have  not  been  fully  comprehended 
by  those  upon  whom  they  were  inflicted.  No  wise  and  just 
Legislator  will  desire  to  continue  upon  our  statute  books  a law 
which  thus  draws  distinctions  between  the  citizens  of  a great 
Commonwealth — citizens  who,  be  they  high  or  low,  rich  or 
poor  live  they  on  the  shores  of  the  Delaware,  the  Juniata,  the 
Schuylkill,  the  Conemaugh,  or  the  Allegheny,  are  entitled  to 
equal  rights  and  equal  privileges. 

There  is  another  aspect  in  which  the  necessity  of  a liberal 
policy  on  the  part  of  Pennsylvania  presents  itself,  that,  however 


36 


unpleasant  it  may  be,  should  not  be  shut  out  from  our  minds. 
Prudence  dictates  that  the  shadowy  warnings  of  dire  events, 
no  matter  how  uncertain  they  appear,  should  not  be  unheeded 
by  any  people.  Many  instances  might  be  cited  to  show  that 
clouds,  no  larger  than  a man's  hand  when  they  came  upon  a 
nation’s  horizon,  have  spread  until  they  overshadowed  every- 
thing, and  the  storm  which  burst  from  them  swept  the  institu- 
tions and  customs  of  years  away,  as  the  rushing  tide  obliterates 
a writing  on  the  sands  of  the  seashore. 

Just  now  there  is  a cloud  gathering  over  the  hitherto  bright 
sky  of  our  own  beloved  country.  How  long  it  may  continue, 
or  what  may  flow  from  it,  human  perception  cannot  foretell. 
Every  patriot  hopes  and  trusts  that  it  may  pass  away  and  leave 
no  sign,  but  it  is  not  well  to  remain  inactive  in  this  desire.  As 
citizens  of  a great  State,  centrally  located,  and  uniting  within 
our  limits  the  waters  of  the  two  great  oceans,  we  should  pursue 
such  a course  now  as  will  prove  advantageous  to  ourselves  and 
our  posterity,  come  what  may.  It  is  possible  that  a few  years, 
nay,  even  a few  months,  will  see  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
river  closed  to  the  free  and  uninterrupted  commerce  of  the  great 
North-west.  It  may  be  that  a hostile  power  will  place  itself 
upon  the  Father  of  Waters  and  demand  tribute  for  the  right  of 
sailing  down  it  to  the  trackless  ocean.  In  such  a contingency, 
what  route  of  communication  betwreen  the  West  and  the  Atlan- 
tic coast  could  compare  with  that  through  our  own  State,  if  the 
restrictions  now  placed  upon  it  were  removed  ? A wise  policy 
on  the  part  of  our  Legislature — a policy  which  looks  beyond 
the  petty  gains  wrung  from  an  oppressed  community  would 
elevate  Pennsylvania  into  a position  of  commercial  and  produc- 
tive importance  which  the  revolutions  of  centuries  could  not 
destroy.  A liberal  course  on  our  part  tovTard  the  States  lying 
in  the  head  of  the  Mississippi  Valley — States  settled  by  our 
brethren,  and  wdiose  institutions  are  modelled  after  our  own 
would  link  them  around  the  old  Keystone  in  a bond  of  fraternal 
union  that  fanaticism  could  never  destroy. 

In  view  of  all  these  facts,  present  and  contingent,  is  it  not 
time  that  our  discriminating  and  restricting  policy  were 
changed?  Is  it  not  time  that  our  own  people  were  relieved 


37 


from  burthens  upon  their  industry  and  enterprise,  and  those  of 
sister  States  be  given  to  understand  that  Pennsylvania  intends 
to  use,  properly  and  liberally,  the  many  advantages  she  enjoys. 
Our  system  of  railroads  will  soon,  after  years  of  trial  and  labor, 
he  perfected.  New  York  sees  this,  and  she  is  exercising  all  her 
ingenuity  to  overreach  us  again,  as  she  has  in  times  past.  From 
a pamphlet  lately  printed  in  that  city,  and  devoted  to  the  inte- 
rests of  the  Erie  Railroad,  we  learn  some  of  the  gigantic  schemes 
in  contemplation  by  which  a monopoly  of  the  Western  trade  is 
to  be  maintained.  The  writer  assures  the  citizens  of  New  York 
that  they  “make  a very  great  mistake  in  regarding  the  New 
York  and  Erie  Railroad  as  having  been  completed.  * * * 

It  is  not  enough  that  this  road  should  be  made  to  reach  the 
borders  of  the  West.  It  must  penetrate,  cross,  traverse  the 
West.  It  must  be  able  to  reach  out  and  grasp  the  products  of 
Ohio  from  the  river  to  the  lake.  It  must  have  its  tributaries  in 
Indiana— -they  must  radiate  from  Chicago,  and  it  must  meet  the 
commerce  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  at  St.  Louis.  This 
was  the  great  idea , the  comprehensive  philosophy,  the  funda- 
mental principle  of  the  broad  theory  to  which  this  road  owes  its 
origin,  and  to  the  wisdom  of  which  every  day’s  observation,  and 
every  year’s  experience  testifies.  Works  that  to  some  extent 
are  to  effect  all  this,  are  now  constructed,  or  in  process  of  con- 
struction.” 

Surely  it  is  enough  for  Pennsylvania  Legislators  to  be  ap- 
prised of  these  efforts  on  the  part  of  our  business  rival  to  rob 
us  of  a just  share  of  trade,  to  induce  them  at  once  to  take  such 
measures  as  will  save  us  from  further  humiliation.  We  have 
shown  that  the  interests  of  Pennsylvania  will  all  be  subserved 
by  the  repeal  of  the  Tonnage  Tax — -that  the  bill  asking  for  that 
repeal  is  so  drawn  as  to  secure  to  a large  portion  of  the  State 
immediate  and  great  advantages.  We  have  shown,  from  official 
records,  that  the  financial  condition  of  the  Commonwealth  is  such 
that  the  continuation  of  that  unjust  tax  is  not  required  as  a 
source  of  revenue.  We  have  shown  that  it  operates  to  the  in- 
jury of  our  foreign  and  domestic  trade — of  our  manufacturing, 
agricultural,  and  mineral  interests,  and  to  the  detriment  of  our 
reputation  as  a great  Commonwealth.  Can  any  further  argu- 


38 


ment  be  necessary?  Will  a blind  prejudice  be  sufficient  to 
cause  justice  to  be  withheld  from  a great  improvement,  built  by 
the  money  of  our  people  for  their  mutual  advantage  ? W e 
think  not.  The  time  for  such  narrow  prejudice  has  passed  by ; 
and  hereafter,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  our  Legislators  will  not  ask, 
“Is  this  measure  for  the  interest  of  my  county?  Will  it 
prove  of  immediate  advantage  to  my  constituents?”  but  that 
they  will  act  on  the  great  and  noble  principle  of  legislation 
proclaimed  by  Daniel  Webster,  that  “one  who  possesses  too 
little  comprehension,  either  of  intellect  or  feeling— one  who 
is  not  large  enough  in  mind  and  heart,  to  embrace  the  whole 
— is  not  fit  to  be  entrusted  with  the  interest  of  any  part. 


4 


